Saudi judo champion Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shaherkani will wear a hijab after all when she takes part in the Olympic Judo competition. A Saudi National Olympic Committee spokeswoman said that the IOC and the International Judo Federation had settled on a version of the headscarf for Shaherkani to wear that was most appropriate for competitive ass-kicking. Shaherkani had previously said that she wouldn't compete without a hijab, which meant the the IJF's insistence that she fight "according to the principle and spirit of judo," i.e. with a bare head, proved to blossom into a thorny issue until this latest compromise.

IJF spokesman Nicolas Messner confirmed that Shaherkani would compete in the heavyweight category on Friday, but offered no additional details. Shaherkani is one of two Saudi women to travel to London this year after the IOC successfully persuaded a string of conservative Muslim nations including Qatar and Brunei to end their bans on sending female competitors to the games.